The Campaign to raise the speed of railway travel in China or the China Railway Speed Up Campaign (中国铁路大提速) was a series of initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Railways from 1997 to 2007 to increase the speed of train travel in China by improving the nation’s railways. The campaign was implemented in six rounds and increased average speed of passenger trains in China from 43 km/h to 70 km/h.

Overview

4th line of Guangshen Railway in construction

In 1993, commercial train service in China averaged only 48 km/h (30 mph) and was steadily losing market share to

airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...

and highway travel on the country's expanding network of expressways. The MOR focused modernization efforts on increasing the service speed and capacity on existing lines through

double-tracking Double tracking or doubling is an audio recording technique in which a performer sings or plays along with their own prerecorded performance, usually to produce a stronger or bigger sound than can be obtained with a single voice or instrument. ...

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...

, improvements in

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also ref ...

(through

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

s and bridges), reductions in turn curvature, and installation of

continuous welded rail A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers ...

. Through five rounds of "speed-up" campaigns in April 1997, October 1998, October 2000, November 2001, and April 2004, passenger service on 7,700 km (4,785 mi.) of existing tracks was upgraded to reach sub-high speeds of 160 km/h (100 mph). A notable example is the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway, which in December 1994 became the first line in China to offer sub-high speed service of 160 km/h using domestically-produced DF-class diesel locomotives. The line was electrified in 1998, and Swedish-made

X 2000 X 2000, also called SJ X2 or simply as X2, is an electric tilting train operated by SJ in Sweden. It was constructed by Kalmar Verkstad in Kalmar, Sweden (prior to the company being bought by Adtranz in 1996) and launched in 1990 as a ...

trains increased service speed to 200 km/h (124 mph). After the completion of a third track in 2000 and a fourth in 2007, the line became the first in China to run high-speed passenger and freight service on separate tracks. The completion of the sixth and final round of the "speed up" campaigns in April 2007 brought HSR service to more existing lines: 423 km (263 mi) capable of 250 km/h (155 mph) train service and 3,002 km (1,865 mi) capable of 200 km/h (124 mph). Some 7,000 km of tracks could accommodate trains traveling at speeds up to 160 km/h (99 mph). In all, travel speed was increased on 22,000 extended km (13,700 extended mi), or one fifth, of the national rail network, and the average speed of a passenger train improved to 70 km/h. The introduction of more non-stop service between large cities also helped to reduce travel time. The non-stop express train from

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

to Fuzhou shortened travel time from 33.5 to less than 20 hours. In addition to track and scheduling improvements, the deployment of the CRH series trains raised travel speed. During the sixth railway speedup campaign, 52 CRH trainsets (

CRH1 The CRH1 EMU, also known as Hexie (simplified Chinese: 和谐号; traditional Chinese: 和諧號; pinyin: Héxié Hào; literally: "Harmony") is a high-speed train operated by China Railway and built by a joint venture between Bombardier Transp ...

CRH2 The CRH2 Hexie (simplified Chinese: 和谐号; traditional Chinese: 和諧號; pinyin: Héxié Hào; literally: "Harmony") is one of the high-speed train models in China. The CRH2 is based on the E2-1000 Series Shinkansen design from Japan wit ...

and

CRH5 The CRH5 Hexie (simplified Chinese: 和谐号; traditional Chinese: 和諧號; pinyin: Héxié Hào; literally: "Harmony") is an electric multiple unit high-speed train in use with China Railway High-speed in the People's Republic of China. The ...

) were put into operation, service as 280 train numbers. By the end of 2007, there were planned to have 158 CRH trainsets, 514 train numbers in operation. The new trains sliced 2 hours off of the 1,463 km trip between

and

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

to a journey of just under 10 hours. Travel times from Shanghai to

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a popul ...

(1,199 km) fell by 1.5 hour to 7.5 hours and the trip to

Nanchang Nanchang (, ; ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east ...

was halved.

Summary

The Six "Speed-Up" campaigns (1997–2007)

Sixth Round

Following the sixth round of the "railway speed up campaign" on April 18, 2007, some 6,003 extended km of track could carry trains at speeds of up to 200 km/h. Of these, 848 km could attain 250 km/h. These include the Qinhuangdao-Shenyang (Qinshen) Passenger Railway, which was initially built for 200 km/h trains when completed in 2003 and then upgraded to 250 km/h during the Sixth Speed-up Campaign, and sections of the Qingdao-Jinan (Jiaoji), Shanghai-Kunming (Hukun) (between Shanghai and Zhuzhou), Guangzhou-Shenzhen (Guangshen), Beijing-Shanghai (Jinghu), Beijing-Harbin (Jingha), Beijing-Guangzhou (Jingguang), Longhai (between Zhengzhou to Xuzhou) Railways. Upgrade work continues on other lines including the Wuhan-Danyang (Handan), Hunan-Guizhou (Xianggui), and Nanjing-Nantong (Ningqi) Railways. Upgraded High-Speed Rail Tracks After the Sixth Speed-Up Campaign (2007-04-18)
(Capable of Accommodating Train Speeds of 200+ km/h)

References

{{High-speed rail in the People's Republic of China High-speed rail in China